In a first of its kind effort in the country, the AyurVAID Hospitals, a division of Kerala First Health Services Pvt. Ltd. which offers Ayurveda system of treatment, has been empanelled as a network hospital by 12 leading medical insurers and Third Party Administrators (TPAs). This will facilitate policy holding patients to have cashless medical management facility.

"The achievement is a major effort as we have been the first healthcare provider in the traditional medicine segment to be accepted by the medical insurance sector. This provides a big benefit to the patients who are keen to undergo treatment for many of the chronic ailments", Rajiv Vasudevan, CEO, AyurVAID Hospitals told Pharmabiz.

The insurance providers include TTK Healthcare, Paramount, MediAssist, Healthcare India, Family Health Plan, United Health Service, Dedicated Health Services. The Third Party Administrators are Raksha, Medicare and MD India to name a few. A person who holds any one of these policies can access for the cashless benefit when he undergoes treatment as an in-patient.

So long Ayurveda has been out of the purview of the insurance coverage going by the various restrictions that were imposed on it. However, with our protocol of evidence-based Ayurveda practice, we have been able to convince the insurance sector on the indispensability of this treatment modality for chromic disease conditions, stated Vasudevan.

The Group has developed a standard operating procedure which is both transparent and accessible on the kind of treatment it has been able to offer with safety and efficacy.

Referring to the World Health Organization study which stated that at least 53 percent of the population in the country will succumb to chronic diseases and people aged between 35 and 65 years are bound to suffer from persistent illness by 2020, Vasudevan said that support from medical insurance players will only help patients to access treatment faster. Many chronic disorders from cardiovascular disorders to cancer and arthritis.

The disease conditions are providing to be a growing concern and a challenge to treat for the medical fraternity. The patients are young and the current lifestyles are attributed to the prevalence of much of these, he added.

Currently, AyurVAID has two hospitals in Kochi (15 bed) and Aluva (60 bed). Its third hospital in Bangalore was operational in October 2008. The Group which developed a process driven Ayurveda format is now gearing up to increase its hospital presence from the current three to six by the June 2009 and thereby work towards setting up 20 hospitals in the next two years these would include locations at New Delhi, Kolkotta and Tier II cities.

Over the next five years, the Group plans to have 50 hospitals. The three hospitals which are slated for opening by mid 2009 will be at Mumbai, Hubli and second facility at Bangalore. The Hubli facility will have a dedicated operation theatre.

The Group which received a fund infusion of Rs 4.5 crore in equity investment of by US-based Acumen Fund, a non profit venture philanthropy fund that finances social enterprises in South Asia and Africa in 2008 will be able to fund much of the new operations with this support. AyurVAID hospitals are portrayed as low capital and high knowledge intensive operations, stated Vasudevan.

A typical AyurVAID Hospital houses treatment rooms, in-patient units and a dedicated pharmacy. The classical Ayurveda drugs which include arishtas, kashayas, lehyams, grithams, choornams, thailams and tablets are sold under the brand name of AyurVAID are manufactured under contract.